


The Final Rose

by allmylovesatonce



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-04-06 23:59:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14068434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allmylovesatonce/pseuds/allmylovesatonce
Summary: Amy begrudgingly accepts becoming the newest Bachelorette after Gina sneakily signs her up. The prospect of meeting 25 new men all vying for her affections seems intimidating and ridiculous. But the first night, she meets a man named Jake who is kind and makes her laugh. The only problem: he's not one of the contestants.





	1. A Rose By a Different Name

**Author's Note:**

> A big thank you to startofamoment on tumblr for letting me yell about this with you!

Her hair was being done. A long, sparkly dress was hanging on the door behind her. Her makeup was being applied carefully. Amy was getting ready for what would inevitably be a very notable night of her life and she still had no idea how Gina (and the producers) had talked her into it. 

When Gina laughed and told Amy that she’d signed her up to be the next Bachelorette, Amy laughed too. She never thought that a boring New York detective would be chosen to be on a dating show. But in a few weeks, she was proven wrong. Apparently Gina had put together a very compelling video about Amy’s love life. Or rather, Amy’s lack of love life. Gina wouldn’t let her back out. She tagged along to the meeting with the producers to make sure Amy agreed. 

The producers explained that while they usually just picked the one of the rejected girls from the Bachelor, Gina’s video about Amy intrigued them into picking a fresh face. 

“Wait,” Amy had asked, “You weren’t even  _ looking _ for a new Bachelorette?” 

“No,” one man explained. “We usually pick someone from the season of the Bachelor before. We were stalled trying to pick the contestant that would attract more viewers when we got this video from your friend.” 

Amy looked over at Gina and glared. At the time, “friend” seemed like a strong term. Gina smiled and nodded happily at the turn of events. Amy really couldn’t back out. “So why do you think a nobody will attract more viewers?” Amy wondered aloud. 

“Because everyone is expecting us to pick Ashley H. from last season, but she declined,” another producer explained. “We were also leaning toward Emma but we weren’t sure she’d have enough draw. And then we realized that we could target everything differently with a fresh face.” 

“Plus we could draw in new viewership with our first ever Latina bachelorette,” the first producer added excitedly. Amy wasn’t very convinced. They could seemingly tell. “Look, we understand that this could be a big step. But it could also help you meet the love of your life,” he concluded, raising his eyebrows. 

It wasn’t the producers’ less than compelling pitch that had Amy signing a contract, but rather Gina’s watchful eye. Amy knew that if she turned down this opportunity that Gina had offered her, she’d never be able to whine about her love life ever again. Skeptical as she was, Amy signed on to be the next bachelorette. 

So there she was, getting primped to go meet 25 men who had signed up to try and win her love. It was the strangest situation she’d ever been in. Amy slipped into her dress, put on her startlingly high heels, and walked out to talk to the producers before the limos started to arrive. To say she was nervous would have been an understatement. 

The producers had left to let her greet the guys. She tried to keep all their various pieces of advice in mind, but she was reeling. Amy was wringing her hands when one of the cameramen set down his camera and walked over to her. She thought she was in for a scolding. He smiled kindly to her. 

“Nervous?” he asked. She laughed breathily and nodded. “Well if it makes you feel better, it’s my first time on the show too,” he added with a grin. “So there’s always a chance the footage will look like something out of the Blair Witch Project and no one will be able to see how nervous you are.” They shared a laugh at the thought. “Plus, if you think about it,” he continued, “they’re probably nervous to meet you too.” 

Amy laughed. “I doubt that.” 

“They don’t know you. They’re making the same risks you are. Except they have 24 guys to compete with. I don’t see 24 other girls out here, trying to upstage you,” he said with a raise of his brow. 

“Hmm,” Amy mused. “That’s a fair point. I guess it won’t matter if they think I’m a huge, unlovable nerd. I won’t be the one who gets sent away.” She laughed almost evilly at the thought. The producers weren’t going to kick her off because she wasn’t appealing enough. 

The thought startled Amy though. She wondered when it was that she got worried about being kicked off. She didn’t want to be here. Shouldn’t want to be here. Was she worried about being kicked off? No, she’d be fine going back home and trying to find dates the normal way. Maybe she was worried that getting rejected by 25 different men would be an epically humiliating moment. 

The cameraman was saying something else. Amy was caught up in her thoughts and missed the beginning. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” 

“I just said that even if there were 24 other women, you’d still be a standout,” he said kindly. “That’s a really pretty dress.” 

Amy smiled, looking down at her dress. “I didn’t pick it out,” she replied lamely. He nodded awkwardly, picking up his camera and walking back to his mark. Amy shook her head at herself. Why couldn’t she just accept the compliment? He was being nice. She looked over at him as he positioned the camera on his shoulder. “So obviously I should be working on my small talk skills?” she asked with a tone of self deprecation. 

He laughed loudly. “Yeah, maybe just a bit.” 

Amy was about to make another joke when someone called that the first limo was arriving. Amy steeled herself for a night of inevitable awkwardness and potential humiliation. For the hundredth time, she cursed Gina. She glanced back to the cameraman for another second to see him smile and nod encouragingly as the first limo pulled into view. 

The night was filled with meeting too many people. Amy was usually good with names, but this was a whole other level. It was one thing to meet new people, but 25 at one time was a bit ridiculous. Plus by the end of the night, she had to decide the best one she’d met. She hoped the cameras weren’t able to catch how much she was actually drinking. At the end of the night, Amy gave the first impression rose to a guy named Luke. Soon, the guys all wandered up the stairs of the mansion. Amy was more than ready to go to her separate home to sleep for a while. She wasn’t sure of everything that was going to happen the next day, but she knew she needed sleep. 

Amy bent down and took off her heels before walking toward the door. The kind cameraman from before stopped her before she could leave. “Hey, Amy,” he called from a door just off the main room. She looked over at him curiously. “We need some interview stuff before you can leave.” 

It must have been the alcohol that made Amy sigh and roll her eyes without even trying to hide it. She nodded reluctantly and followed him to the room. She’d barely been sitting for two seconds before the makeup artists descended on her to touch up everything about her appearance. Once they approved of her look, they backed off to stand behind the cameraman. He looked at her appraisingly for a moment. Amy briefly wondered if there was something on her face before deciding that the stylists would have leaped in to fix it. 

“You’re not very comfortable are you?” he asked. 

“I’m...tired,” Amy answered, sticking to the acceptable truth. 

He turned around and looked at the other five people in the room. “Duncan gave me the targets for this interview. I think it might go better if there wasn’t a crowd. She’s still not used to the audience. I think we’ll be fine.” 

“What if her makeup needs to be touched up?” 

“Then we’ll send up a flare,” he joked. They all looked skeptical, but one by one, they filed out of the room. 

Amy hadn’t even gotten the cameraman’s name, but she felt like he understood her. She was instantly appreciative that he was working her season of the show. He ducked to make sure the camera was set up properly for the shot. “So how does it feel having 25 boyfriends?” he teased. 

She couldn’t hide her laugh. “I’m waiting to see how fast they can all reject me.” 

He scoffed as he played around with the camera. “Can you imagine someone  _ actually _ having 25 significant others?”

“It’s insane, right?” Amy asked, latching on to the topic. It was something she’d been thinking about a lot. “I mean, millions of people watch this show, but if I had 25 boyfriends in real life, I’d be called a whore easily.” 

He laughed as he straightened up and looked at her. “You’re not wrong. Or maybe you’d be a boss. I mean if you had 25 boyfriends and they all knew about each other and they weren’t all killing each other or you? Well, I’d want to know your secrets.” 

“I’d want to know how I got 25 boyfriends at the same time,” Amy said with a shake of her head. 

“Well yeah, that would be the secret I’d want to know too,” he corrected with a small smile. 

“Gee, if they’re looking for new faces now, you could always be the next bachelor,” Amy joked. “My friend, Gina is really good at sending in videos she pieced together showing how sad my love life is.” 

He tilted his head back and laughed. “Well maybe it’ll all work out and one day you’ll be able to thank her.” 

“I’m not counting on it.” 

“There’s that first night optimism,” he teased. “Okay, so basically we want to hear your thoughts on the first night and meeting all the new guys. Sound good?” He asked, getting back to business. 

“The truth or the tv appropriate version?” 

He narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m thinking the one that will draw in viewers.”

Amy sighed. “Okay.” She shook her shoulders a little as she straightened up in her seat. Plastering on the best smile she could, Amy tried to think back on the night without the filter of anxiety. She opened her mouth to speak but he stopped her.

“Stop,” he said quickly. Amy was confused. “Now I’ve only watched this show with my friends, I mean Rosa only hate watches it but I think she’s secretly as obsessed as Charles, but during these interviews on the first night, they’re always excited and seem like they really want to be here.” He sighed, stepping out from behind the camera. “I’m guessing it wasn’t your choice and you don’t totally want to be here.” 

“You’d be right about that.” 

“Well we’re going to have to work on your acting skills as well as your small talk skills then,” he said with a kind smile. “You can do this. We’ve just got to have you looking like you’re happy and not like you just had a man tell you that you should smile more.” 

Amy laughed, her hand reaching up to cover the snort that resulted from it. “Fair enough. So what do you want me to do?” 

He walked back behind the camera, eyeing her thoughtfully. “How’d your parents meet?” 

She stared at him, wondering how this would help. Getting a bit more comfortable in the chair, Amy recalled the story of her parents meeting. “My mom had just moved from Florida to New York City. A week after she got there, she went to the laundromat. There was almost no one there. At one point she opened a top dryer to throw in a load when she opened the door into my dad’s face. She was so embarrassed that she volunteered to do all of his laundry as well. She found him ice and they talked for a few hours as they did their laundry and my mom tried to prove that she wasn’t trying to maim him. He said his clothes turned out better when she did them than when he does. He wrote down his number and told her to call him so she could tell her all of her laundry secrets. But my mom said it would be simpler if he just asked her out like he wanted to anyway.” Amy smiled happily at the memory of her mother regaling her with the story. “And the rest is history.” 

“There’s that smile,” he said softly from behind the camera. Amy realized she was smiling naturally and that had been his plan all along. “So trying to maintain that, how was tonight?” 

Amy felt her smile grow, not by thinking of the night, but by realizing what a gift this random cameraman had. He knew how to get the authentic feelings out of her that she needed to sell the show. So Amy talked about the guys and how kind and goofy they seemed. She talked about how excited she was to have this journey with these men ahead of her. While still trying to hold on to the same feeling, she even managed to choke out a line about hopefully finding the man she could fall in love with. 

Amy sighed as the cameraman held up his thumb, signalling that they got the desired footage. He walked over and shook her hand. “I think we have more than enough. Thanks for being a good sport.” 

Amy laughed. “Thanks for understanding that I’m not a natural for the camera.” 

He smiled brightly. “I think you are. You just need a little encouragement. Everyone does now and again. I can’t imagine how terrible I’d be.” 

Amy tilted her head and looked at him with an appraising gaze. “I bet you’d be better than you think. But really, thank you. It helps to have someone who seems cool with my awkwardness.” 

“Can’t wait to see that on a date with ten guys,” he joked. 

Amy cringed. “Ugh, please don’t make me think of it.” She shook her head as she took her heels off again. 

“I’m pretty sure that’s tomorrow,” he said apologetically. “But I can find stuff to throw at you from behind the camera to loosen you up a bit if you’d like.” He smiled goofily at her. 

Shaking her head, Amy laughed, imagining how that would go down. “I’ll think about it.” Amy picked up the train of her dress, turning to finally leave the mansion for the night. She opened the door before turning back to look at him. “You know what, I don’t think I ever got your name.” 

He looked up, a surprised expression on his face before he smiled. “It’s Jake.” 


	2. A Game of Sorts

Jake was about to crawl into bed when his phone started vibrating. He looked down to see Charles’s grinning face staring up at him from his phone. Groaning, he swiped to answer it. “Hey, Charles. What’s up?” 

“How was the first night?” Charles asked excitedly.

“You know I can’t tell you anything,” Jake reminded him. 

“Well not anything important, but you could tell me little bits and things, right?” 

Jake sighed. “No. I can’t.” 

“Is it Ashley H.?” Rosa asked. 

“Oh cool, I’m on speaker phone,” Jake said, ignoring her question. 

“You are. We both wanted to see how it went,” Charles replied. “And you’ve yet to tell us anything.” 

“Because I can’t,” Jake said for what felt like the hundredth time. “I signed an NDA. So, my lips are legally sealed.” 

“I read an article that said they might be going with a new face. Is that true?” Rosa probed. 

“Am I even speaking?” Jake wondered aloud. “Are the words coming out of my mouth?” 

“They are, they’re just stupid. We’re your best friends. It’s not like we’re going to say anything,” Rosa retorted. “Just tell us.” 

“Rosa, I thought you hated this show and only watched it to make fun of it.” Jake asked, annoyed, hoping for a way out of this conversation. 

She cleared her throat quickly. “Yeah, I do.”

“Then why do you care so much?” 

“I-uh, because Charles won’t stop talking about it,” Rosa answered haltingly. 

“You guys, I really can’t tell you anything,” Jake said, yet again. Charles and Rosa both sighed on the other end of the call. Jake rolled his eyes, deciding to give them something. “This is all I will tell you. I met her and she is probably the prettiest person I’ve ever met. There, happy?” 

“It’s not Ashley H.!” Rosa yelled. 

“How did you get that from what I said?” 

“You thought Ashley H. had a bad dye job and a weird smile,” Rosa reminded him. 

“Oh that’s true,” Charles agreed. “You did not like her.” 

“Yeah, because I liked Hannah and she won, so clearly I had good instincts.” He could hear Rosa grumbling in disagreement. “Look, for the thousandth time, I can’t tell you anything. And I definitely wouldn’t have anything to tell after just the first night.”

Another sigh came from over the phone. “Okay. Well are you at least having a good time?” Charles asked. 

Jake thought back on the night and smiled to himself. “Yeah, I am.” After a pause, he said, “Look, it’s pretty late and I have to be up early tomorrow to set up shots and everything. So I’ll talk to you guys later.” 

After his friends said goodbye and hung up, Jake finally got into bed. The problem was he couldn’t sleep. His mind kept going over the events of the evening. He’d been really excited when he got hired to be a cameraman for the show. Getting ready for the evening had been stressful but exciting. It was up to his team to make sure the show looked good. That felt like a lot of pressure. It’s not like Jake was in charge of anything but his own camera, but still, a lot of pressure. 

But as he’d gotten in his position to wait for the limos to arrive, he saw her, looking nervous as hell. About as nervous as he felt. And suddenly, Jake realized his pressure seemed silly. If he fumbled, it was at least behind a camera. Somehow talking to her calmed him down and put things in perspective. It was an awkward conversation, to be sure. He was 99% sure he’d put his foot in his mouth when he told her that even if there were other women, she’d be a standout. What had he been thinking? But she seemed flattered by it, thankfully. What he said to Charles and Rosa was true though; she was the prettiest woman he’d ever met. 

Jake tried to make his brain shut off, but it wouldn’t. He kept replaying things he’d heard Amy say. His brain kept a loop going of the moment when she started smiling naturally as he tried to get an interview out of her. She had an amazing smile. 

God, what was wrong with him? He’d met this girl once on the set of a show where she was there to date 25 other men. He shook his head and turned on his side, trying desperately to sleep. He hoped that tomorrow he’d be able to function normally. 

~~~~~

Amy noted that the cameraman, Jake, had been right. When she woke up she was informed that she’d be having a group date later in the day. Luckily it seemed simple enough. There would be a picnic to start and then Amy would “surprise” them with a game of dodgeball. Amy huffed, looking at the itinerary. “As long as I don’t have to play,” she said to herself. She put on the clothes hanging just outside her room and went down to eat breakfast. 

Thankfully, before the date began, one of the behind the scenes people (she’d really need to learn their titles) briefed her on the guys’ names. There had only been a few that had been memorable enough to hold onto their names, so Amy was grateful for the help. She sat on an impossibly big picnic blanket, waiting for the cameras to start rolling. She looked over to see Jake setting up to start. She bowed her head as she felt herself smiling. “Action!” she heard and she looked up to see 10 men strolling toward her. She wondered if one day she wouldn’t feel so weird about it all. Probably not. 

Amy jumped up, a smile plastered on her face, ready to greet her dates. “Hey guys!” she cheered. She could hear the fakeness in her voice. They all hugged her before sitting down to enjoy their picnic. Amy had perused her hidden binder on good small talk topics before coming on this group date, and she was thankful she had. As the bachelorette, she was the one having to steer the conversation. 

She could admit that some of the guys seemed nice, like she could get along with them. Teddy gave off a friendly vibe. Dave seemed really smart which Amy could click with for sure. There was a guy named Mike who apparently read a lot of books. Every story he told seemed to be about a book he’d read. She thought it was weird, but she understood a love of reading. 

Amy tried to think of the picnic not as a date, but just as her hanging out with a group of guys. She’d done that plenty of times. Given that she had 7 brothers, she was used to being the only girl around sometimes. Once Amy put it in a different perspective, she felt much more comfortable. That is until the picnic part ended and the games began. 

She wasn’t fully sure why they’d give the Bachelorette title to such an awkward person. Amy felt like a bad MC as she announced to the guys that they’d be playing dodgeball. “And the team that wins get to go to the campfire and have smores with me!” She wondered why that was a prize.  _ Oh right, because they’re trying to spend time with me _ , she reminded herself.

Even if it was a dumb prize, the guys got into it. Half were wearing blue jerseys and half were wearing red jerseys. Amy just stood off to the side to watch. A guy named Keith ran up to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m playing for you, Foxy,” he said before running back to the field. Amy scrunched up her face in disgust as she watched him run off. 

She stood in line where the balls had been lined up. “Are you guys ready?” she called to them. The guys all cheered. “Are you sure?” They laughed and kept cheering. “Alright then. Three...two…” and then she blew the whistle, backing away quickly as the guys charged the center line. 

Amy started to feel a bit bored watching the game after a few minutes. She remembered playing dodgeball with her brothers and it was never her favorite game. Suddenly, a stray ball smacked her in the side of the head. The guys were all focused on the game. Amy looked around angrily to see who had thrown the ball at her. She spotted Jake, poking out from behind his camera with a huge grin and his thumbs up. She recalled something he’d said to her the night before.  _ But I can find stuff to throw at you from behind the camera to loosen you up a bit if you’d like _ . Looking back at him, he motioned for her to smile. She shook her head amusedly at him, smiling more from the interaction than from the need to smile for the cameras. Turning back to the game, Amy started yelling for both teams, cheering when they made good moves. If she was going to have to sell it, she should at least try. 

In the end the blue team won. A campfire was being started and the red team (which thankfully included Keith) was heading back to the mansion. They pulled Amy and the blue team aside for talking heads about the afternoon while they waited for the sun to set more and the fire to get going. Amy was kind of sad when Jake was on the separate team interviewing some of the guys. She put on a smile she thought was convincing and talked about getting to know the men. 

By the end of the night, Amy felt tired from putting on a show all day. She’d bid the guys good night and was about walk back to the car taking her home. Jake walked up beside her, nudging her with his shoulder. “Hey, got one more talking head in you?” he asked with a grin. 

Amy frowned. “I already did those today.” 

“You did those for the picnic and the lovely dodgeball game,” Jake informed her. “Now we need you to talk about what it’s like having smores with five guys.” 

“They’re messy,” Amy replied. “Boom. It’s simple and it can refer to either the guys or the smores. There’s your soundbite.” 

Jake laughed but shook his head. “If only it was that simple, I’m afraid. But they’re waiting, so we kinda have to.” 

Amy groaned and followed Jake over to where they wanted to film her. She looked over at him as they walked. “So on a scale of 1 to 10 million, how awkward was I today?” she asked jokingly. 

“Hmm,” he said thoughtfully. “That’s a good question. Should we break it down by each activity or…?” 

Amy smacked his shoulder. “Rude!” She laughed in spite of herself. “Was I that bad?” 

Jake grinned broadly as he looked over at her. “No. You were fine.” She fixed him with a pointed stare. “Really. There was only the one time you looked a little bored and a dodgeball to the head fixed that right away.” 

Amy shook her head with a smile. “Yeah, thanks for that by the way.” 

Jake laughed loudly. “It worked, did it not?” 

Amy sighed dramatically. “I guess.” 

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Right as they got up to the interview spot, Jake turned to Amy. “If it makes you feel better, you seemed way more comfortable today than you did yesterday.” Amy raised her eyebrows. “Really. I think you’re easing into it.” 

Amy nodded appreciatively. “Thanks. Maybe one day I’ll go on a date with five guys and it won’t even bother me.” 

Jake shrugged. “I don’t know if I see you getting  _ that _ comfortable. I think maybe the time you get truly comfortable with this whole thing, you’ll be sitting on the couch with your beloved in front of a live studio audience talking about how it was all a wonderful dream.” 

Amy scrunched her nose and laughed. “Yeah, we’ll see about that.” 

Jake placed a hand on Amy’s arm before she walked away. “But honestly, I think they made a good choice. People will like you, even if you get a little awkward. Maybe they’ll like you even more for it.” 

Amy stared up at him for a second in silence. “Thanks, Jake. It’s nice to feel like I have someone in my corner.” 

He smiled kindly. “Well, if you ever need me, that’s where I’ll be.” 

“With things to throw at my head to get me back in the game?” Amy added with a laugh. 

“Exactly.” 

They looked at each other for a long beat before Amy smiled, squeezing his hand as she walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the very long wait between chapters! I'm a monster! The muse left me for a while, but I hope she's returned and plans to stay. 
> 
> Anyway, please let me know what you thought of this chapter!


	3. Foot, Enter Mouth

It had been a week and Amy had been on a few more dates. There was one with five guys that was still quite awkward. She had one date that was two guys and she while she got to know them better, she still felt stiff. It all moved really quickly. In six weeks she was expected to meet and fall in love with a guy while “dating” multiple other men. She sat in her expansive kitchen contemplating, for easily the hundredth time, how ridiculous the concept was. 

Amy took another bite of her banana as she said a small thank you to the universe that she didn’t have anything to do until late the next day. They’d just finished up a rose ceremony and she’d had to send someone home. Some of the guys were easier to send home than others. She was still weeding out the gross ones. Keith had been one of the first ones to go. The producers had tried to keep him on because he got the other guys riled up. Amy stood her ground and said no. He had to go. And thankfully, she got her way. 

Amy sighed as she laid her banana peel down on the counter in front of her. There were nice guys, but none she felt a real spark with. She didn’t know how to sell the experience when she didn’t feel a real attraction to anyone. 

Amy looked up as she heard footsteps coming toward the kitchen. Jake was walking in, looking around the kitchen. “Sorry to disturb you,” he said kindly. “I was looking for Brian. One of the other camera guys. I guess he’s not down here.” 

She looked around the empty kitchen and then back at Jake. “Nope. Just me.” 

He smiled and then walked to the other side of the island from her. “So you’re a bit over a week in, how’s it all going?” 

Amy shrugged. 

“Oh that well?” 

“My love life has always been a bit of a mess. Clearly, if I’ve shown up here. But trying to get to know 20 plus men at the same time doesn’t make it any easier. I guess there’s more options, but I don’t feel like I’m getting to know the real stuff about anyone.” She looked up at him. “Does that make any sense?” 

He nodded. “Yeah, I could see that.” 

“You can see it? It’s that obvious?”

“Oh no, I didn’t mean it that way!” Jake hurried to correct himself. “No, I just mean, it makes sense...what you said.” He sat down on a stool and looked at her with a sympathetic expression. “I can’t imagine how hard it is trying to get to know people when they’re all just trying to one up the other.” 

“They’re all peacocking so much, I don’t get to see their real selves,” Amy agreed. 

“Peacocking?” Jake asked with a laugh. 

“Oh come on,” Amy cried. “You know what I mean! The male peacocks are the ones with all the colorful feathers. They show off for female peacocks.” Jake threw his head back as he laughed at her. “How is that a bad way of saying it?” 

Jake shook his head. “It’s not! You just sound a lot like my friend Charles.” 

“Well your friend Charles sounds intelligent.” 

“Are you just calling yourself smart?” Jake asked accusingly. 

Amy smirked to herself. “I guess I am. I mean, I did get a nearly perfect score on the SATs.” 

“Wow, how sexy,” Jake teased. “Why aren’t you throwing that around in conversation with the guys?” 

Amy burst out laughing, covering her face with her hands. “Hmm, I didn’t think about throwing around my smarts.” 

Jake’s face sobered a bit as he took on a more thoughtful expression. “Well, it’s not something that you really have to purposefully show. It comes across pretty easily.” 

She stared at him for a moment, touched by his statement. Nodding, she finally spoke. “Thank you. That’s nice of you to say.” 

“I’ve watched this show a lot with my friends,” Jake said as he stood up. “And I have to say that I think these guys really lucked out to be in the running for you.” He smiled at her kindly. “Good night, Amy.” Jake turned and walked away before she could reply. 

“Good night,” she whispered to his disappearing footsteps. Amy stared at the place where he’d left for a long time, thinking over what he’d just said. It took her far longer than she’d care to admit to clean up in the kitchen and walk up to her room. The entire time, her mind was hyper-focused on Jake. 

Before she went to bed, she looked over the schedule for tomorrow. Just a one on one date that started late in the afternoon. She could actually take her time during the day and do what she wanted before she was thrust in front of a camera. 

As tiring as the day had been, Amy couldn’t fall asleep. She laid in bed, wishing sleep would find her. But the only thing that did find her was a series of thoughts all revolving around Jake. 

~~~~~

Amy was taken to a picturesque spot and had her makeup touched up before she walked to where she was supposed to meet Teddy. The producer gave her a rundown of what the date would entail and then she was set. She looked around at all the people bustling around to set up the shot. To be honest, Amy had actually been looking forward to this date because she thought it might take her mind off the endless stream of questions all about Jake. But as Amy looked at each crew member, one more question about Jake sprang to mind. 

“Where’s Jake?” Amy asked Brian, the nearest cameraman. 

“He apparently has some sort of stomach bug,” Brian said. “Called the head of the camera department and said he’s been puking since last night.” He pointed over to the other cameraman. “That’s Bill. He’s our backup.” 

Amy nodded. “Gotcha. I was just curious. Thanks.” 

Logically, Amy realized that she wasn’t the one who said something exposing last night. But she couldn’t help but feel like Jake was avoiding her. He seemed perfectly healthy as he stood there talking in the kitchen with her. She couldn’t get what he said to her out of her mind. It kept playing on loop like a song stuck in her head. Any hopes Amy’d had of getting Jake out of her head were dashed by his absence and what it could really mean. 

She was still overthinking things when they yelled “Action.” Quickly plastering on a smile, Amy looked over to see Teddy walking toward her. As he gave her a kiss on the cheek, she promised herself that she was going to focus on this date and not Jake. The problem was that it was much easier said than done. Teddy hadn’t even had his first sip of his pilsner before Amy’s mind moved back to Jake. 

~~~~~

There was a big cocktail party happening at the men’s mansion two nights later. Amy was dressed in a long red gown that hugged her body well. Taking one last look in the mirror, she admitted to herself that she looked  _ good _ . As she was walking down the hall toward the foyer, she noticed Jake. 

“Hey!” Amy said, walking into the room. She hoped she came off as airy and not as though she’d been thinking of him and only him for the last 48 hours or more. “Feeling better?” 

Jake looked up, not a single emotion showing on his face. “Oh, you heard about that?” 

“Yeah, Brian said it was bad.” She stepped closer to him, steeling herself. “I was a bit worried you were faking it just to avoid me.” 

He swallowed quickly. “Why would I do that?” he asked hesitantly. 

Amy felt like a fool. She’d been thinking of him non-stop for over two days now and his comment had been nothing. “Uh, I don’t know. I thought maybe because of...our conversation the other night. But I, I don’t know.” 

For the first time, Jake’s face betrayed him. As he stared down at his camera, he looked pained. “Yeah, about that. I’m really sorry. That was...well, it was over the line. Don’t worry, I won’t be bothering you anymore.” 

“Bothering me?” Amy asked, shocked by the fact that he could think he was doing such a thing. “Jake, you’re like the only one here I feel comfortable talking to.” She moved until she was right in front of him. It wasn’t her original plan, but she was about to put a lot out there. Just as he had. “Honestly, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what you said.” 

Jake looked at her with a sad expression. He picked up his camera and walked away from her. Stopping just at the doorway, he turned back and looked at her intensely. “Well, you should stop.” 

He walked away before Amy could say anything. Just like their last conversation, she felt frozen, staring after him. Why did she suddenly have a sense that something was breaking? Amy walked out and joined the forced party. As she spoke with all the men that were left, a realization hit her. None of them were going to measure up to the man who’d been filling her thoughts. And now that man was pulling himself further back. What was she going to do? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, so I'm sorry for a very, very long time between chapters. I lost the urge to write for a while and then was at a loss of how to do this chapter. I knew where I wanted it to go, but not how to get there. Hopefully this will get me on track and hopefully I will get another update soon! 
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of this chapter!


	4. Moment of Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, yet again, for the long wait between chapters. My life really loves to take away my writing time.

Another week had passed and production was getting closer to the thing Amy was most excited for: international travel. Suddenly, her mood shifted as the producers informed her they’d be flying to Venice in two days. It was as if she was completely fine dating several men at once. Truthfully, it had been a long time since Amy had been anywhere worth writing home over. But Venice seemed perfect. 

Her change in mood seemed to affect other parts of her life as well. She was able to get through the cocktail party a lot easier now. The guys went from being too much to being at best tolerable. But it was a nice change. Her mind kept reminding her that once she got through sending one more guy home, she’d get to go to Italy. 

The only thing that hadn’t changed were the strained interactions she had with Jake. He wouldn’t really talk to her unless he was saying “Hello” or “Over here.” It hadn’t been a very long time that she’d spent getting to talk to him, but he had been the only person she really felt comfortable with on the show. It was becoming painfully obvious to Amy that none of the guys that were actual contestants left her feeling the same way that a short conversation with Jake did. 

It was stupid, Amy reminded herself. She’d known Jake just as long as she’d known these guys. If she found it so ludicrous that she should be in love with one of them by the end of the show, she logically couldn’t have feelings for Jake already. She certainly couldn’t have enough feelings to be hurt by his silence. 

Amy put one last pair of shoes in the bag she actually got to pack. She sighed as she looked around her room, trying to decide if she had everything she needed. Thankfully, her list had been solid and she was finished packing. Not even remotely tired, she just wanted to sneak away. Amy threw herself down on her bed. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she could probably get away long enough to get a drink in solitude. 

Production was getting ready for the flight to Italy. The guys were back at their mansion. No one had eyes on her at the current moment. So far, she’d been such a boring bachelorette that it seemed they wouldn’t need to make sure she didn’t do anything reckless. Sitting up, Amy smiled at the thought that she could actually get away, even for one night. 

Amy quickly pulled out her favorite pair of jeans from her suitcase, a pair of black heels, and the black top that she knew her boobs looked good in. It wasn’t like she wanted to go meet someone. She had enough guys here for fifteen women. What Amy wanted was to go out, feel hot, and have a good time by herself. And damn it, that’s what she was going to do. Amy carefully applied a red lipstick before grabbing her purse. With a smack of her lips in the mirror, she was ready to go. 

She drove (holy crap, she missed driving herself places) to a nice looking bar far enough from the mansion. Amy strolled in, feeling pretty good about her night so far. Secretly she prayed that no one from production would be here. The odds had to be pretty low that she and someone from production would be in the same bar at the same time. 

After ordering a glass of wine and taking a sip, Amy sighed, happy to be alone. She’d been in the bar for maybe ten minutes when she got caught. 

“Well, well, well, I’d never have pegged you for a rule breaker.” 

Amy would have had a snappy retort except that when she saw Jake, she was just relieved he was talking to her again. “You’re not going to tell anyone are you?” she asked sadly. 

His face immediately lost all sense of joking. “What? No!” Jake quickly sat down at the bar next to her. “Look, I’m really not supposed to be out here either. We’re supposed to be getting ready for the flight tomorrow. I just, similarly to you, I’d imagine, needed a drink.” He reached out and quickly laid his hand on her forearm. “I promise your secret is safe with me.” 

Amy smiled, completely relieved. “Thank you,” she said earnestly, laying her hand on his. She felt a small sense of rejection when he quickly removed his hand. Amy cleared her throat. “So why do you need a drink so badly?” 

Jake waited until his drink was placed in front of him before he answered. “Eh, it’s a lot of stuff.” Amy nodded at him, urging him to continue. “I mean mostly it’s just that all these guys are annoying.” 

She stared at him, glaring even, waiting for him to realize his idiocy. “Really?” she asked blankly. “Really? That’s your stance right now?” She shook her head at him. “Nope. No one gets to drink over that but  _ me _ . You think it’s bad that they’re annoying? Try having to “date” them. Believe me, it’s draining.” 

Jake grinned. “Okay, I apologize for taking that stance. You’re right. It’s got to be so much worse for you.” He opened his mouth to say more and then closed it. 

“I feel like if I’m the one picking, I should have gotten some kind of choice in the people selected for this. But I guess that’s not really how it works.” 

Letting out a small laugh, Jake took a drink. “Nope. That would only be fair. I guess they want it to be fate or something like that.” 

Amy rolled her eyes. “Fate. Ha! Fate, shmate.” She sighed. “I guess the further we get into this, I just keep expecting my feelings to change and they’re not. And it kind of scares me. I -” Amy paused for a moment, looking over at Jake. “I just don’t really know what to do.” 

Jake watched her for a long beat. “I don’t know what to tell you. I’d say “lie to them” but in the end, that would also kind of be like lying to yourself.” He held her gaze with an intense look in his eye. “And I know from experience that it’s really hard to lie to yourself.” 

Amy broke eye contact and took another sip of her drink. With a big sigh, she spoke again. “Okay, I have to ask.” Feeling courageous, she looked up at him. “Why did you stop talking to me? Because I...I’ve really missed talking to you and I just...well, it’s not the same, is all. Before, when you would actually acknowledge my presence, it was easier to get through all this stuff. It just somehow, I don’t know, seemed easier. Like there was at least one person in this whole damn production who just got  _ me _ . But now you don’t talk to me and I’m lucky if I get a “hello” and it’s all miserable. The one person that I felt like I’d actually gotten close enough with to be myself around just kind of shut me out. And I realize that it’s probably stupid to feel like that because it had also been a really short amount of time. But in that time I felt like we had an understanding. Then you just shut me out and left me out here all alone and I hate it.” She took a deep breath as she finished her rant. 

He stared at her, his mouth slightly agape. Taking a long pull of his drink, Jake seemed to be stalling. “What do you want me to say?” he asked softly. 

Amy nearly gasped. “Are you serious? I mean the very least, real bottom tier thing you could do is say you’re sorry.” 

Jake swallowed quickly. “Amy, I’m sorry. I felt as though my actions and, even more than that, my words were putting my job in jeopardy. I apologize if I hurt your feelings, but I can’t lose this job. I put my foot in my mouth far too many times so I figured it would just be easier if I removed myself from any situations where my foot could end up further in my mouth. Okay?” He sighed. “Look, I’d really rather not talk about it. Let’s talk about something else. Are you excited for Italy?” 

Amy shook her head. “Of course I’m excited for Italy, but do you actually think I’m going to let this go?” Jake rolled his eyes, laying his head in his hands. “What do you mean by “you put your foot in your mouth?” 

“Oh please. Like the things I said to you weren’t way over the line. Come on, Amy.” 

“What was over the line? You said nice things to me.” 

“No,” Jake said shaking his head. “No, what I said was out of place. I shouldn’t be the one telling you how great you look or what a catch you are or any of that crap I said, no matter how much I meant it. No. The only things I should be saying to you is where to stand so we can set up the shot. So that’s what I’m doing.” He took another drink. “There are plenty of other people to say things I was saying to you.” 

“Yeah well for what it’s worth,” Amy said as she stood up from her chair, “it doesn’t mean half as much coming from any of those guys it’s supposed to come from.” She turned and walked toward the door, choosing to stop putting herself out there. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Jake move to follow her as she got to the door. She kept walking til she got to her car. 

Amy had just slid into the driver’s seat when the passenger door opened. Jake slid into the seat next to her. She stared at him in shock. 

“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly. 

“Something stupid,” he replied, already leaning in. Lifting his hand, he held her face as he closed the distance between them. Amy gasped softly as his lips met hers. She slowly laid her hand on his neck as she leaned in further. He deepened the kiss as they tried to get as close as possible across her armrest. With a small smack of finality, Jake broke away, looking at her with an air of vulnerability. 

Amy breathed out loudly. “Holy shit.” 

“Like I said, something stupid,” Jake said, not meeting her eyes. 

Amy ducked her head to make eye contact with him. “Well you know what they say. One man’s stupid is another man’s fucking brilliant.” He snapped his head up, staring at her for a second before she grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him back in for another kiss. 

They kissed heatedly as though they only had those few moments in her car. Amy tried to forget the fact that it might really be all they had. She ran her fingers through his hair, relishing the sounds he made as she did. Releasing him, Amy panted, “Are there any secret cameras at the mansion?” 

Jake tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “No,” he breathed. 

She leaned back in, kissing him again quickly. “Great, then buckle up.” Turning the key in her car, Amy reached to put her car in drive. 

“Amy, wait,” Jake urged, grabbing her hand. She looked down at him holding her hand before looking up at him. “What about my job? I mean, as great as this is, and as much as I’ve thought about it, I can’t lose my job.” 

Amy reached out and laid her hand gently against his cheek. “Look, Jake, I promise you I won’t make you lose your job. But I’ve been spending weeks, years even, trying to find something that feels as easy as this does. And it’s not just  _ this _ ,” she said, kissing him for emphasis. “It’s everything about being around you. I don’t want you to lose your job either. But I also don’t feel like I can just walk away from this.” She stared at him, hoping what she said was convincing enough. Taking a deep breath, she added, “But if that’s not enough, or if it’s not what you want, then I’ll respect that. You can go back to not talking to me and not risking your job. We’ll just chalk this up to being drunk.” Not wanting to see his decision on his face, Amy looked down at the steering wheel. 

Jake sat silently for too long. Amy closed her eyes, just wishing he’d get out and spare her the humiliation. “I’m not really drunk,” Jake replied vaguely. 

“What?” Amy asked, looking over at him, confused. 

“So we can’t chalk this up to being drunk. I had like half a beer,” Jake explained. “And while I am scared to lose my job, God, crazy as this sounds, I think I’m more scared of not giving this a chance.” Amy smiled brilliantly at him as they both leaned in frantically to kiss again. “This is insane, isn’t it?” Jake asked through a breath. 

“Totally.” 

Jake stared at her, a smile forming on his face as he ran a hand through her hair. “Drive.” 

“Where?” 

He shook his head, still smiling at her. “Anywhere.” 

Amy smiled back at him, reaching up one more time to kiss him before she put the car in drive. Together they drove off into an unknown future that could hold anything from pure bliss to total disaster. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this and want to stay along for the ride! Please let me know what you thought!

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me when I was watching a clip of Kate McKinnon and Mila Kunis talking with Ellen about the Bachelor and I got so excited that I started the writing phase pretty quickly. I hope you'll enjoy it! 
> 
> Feel free to come chat with me on tumblr. I'm three-drink-amy!


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